Faulty Hill Decent control

brifly007 · February 24, 2017

I own a 2016 GMC double cab Z71 4X4, and it has a "Hill Decent Control". My questions is, has anyone else used it where it Kicks out after .12 of a mile or .2km and the error message that comes on the dash it "Service Stabilitrak"?

Don't rely on it! I have tried it several times and it cuts out about .2 of a kilometer or .12 of a mile. That is with an empty load. I was coming down a friends driveway at Christmas time and his driveway is long and has an approx 11% grade at times. I thought I would give the Hill decent control another chance, it almost caused an accident. It was going good and then as I was just to turn a sharp corner, it "kicked out" and started to free wheel and we started to slide towards the ditch and a cliff. I have had my truck into GM 3 times to have it fixed and they say that there is nothing wrong with it. it's obvious their engineering dept didn't check it out before they certified it. It's crap and don't rely on it, it will cause an accident.

Anybody experience this?

Dnt · February 24, 2017

I have used it several times out on the farm pulling a trailer down a steep muddy grade and it would kick out after a certain speed on a steep grade seems like it was around 12 to 15 mph. Once you understand that and learn to expect it you should be OK. These trucks are not quite at the self driving threshold yet LOL

Sierra706 · February 24, 2017

I have used it several times out on the farm pulling a trailer down a steep muddy grade and it would kick out after a certain speed on a steep grade seems like it was around 12 to 15 mph. Once you understand that and learn to expect it you should be OK. These trucks are not quite at the self driving threshold yet LOL

Isn't the point to set a certain speed and hold it indefinitely until switched off?

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silveradosid · February 25, 2017

doesnt it shut off if the engine is revving to high to prevent damage

brifly007 · February 25, 2017

Isn't the point to set a certain speed and hold it indefinitely until switched off?

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You would think so, but I think the engineering staff was on crack when they set this option free! It won't even start unless you are under 20km or approx 13 mph. and it will only hold for a very short time, just enough to think it is under control and then it kicks out and who knows what you will be into? here is a video of how mine worked.

brifly007 · February 25, 2017

doesnt it shut off if the engine is revving to high to prevent damage

NO, it is "supposed" to hold the vehicle at a slow set speed by applying the brakes so the vehicle doesn't rev to high and you don't get going to fast, but instead it decides when it will kick out on it's own and the error message on the dash says "service Stabilitak". The GMC dealer here that looked at my truck said, "there isn't a problem with it. It was designed that way"! I think GM is setting themselves up with a liability law suit if they don't fix it. Even their manual is false or misleading. I almost went over a cliff at Christmas time coming down a snowy hill thinking that this system was the cats meow! then it kicked out just on a 90 degree corner! yikes!!

Sierra706 · February 26, 2017

NO, it is "supposed" to hold the vehicle at a slow set speed by applying the brakes so the vehicle doesn't rev to high and you don't get going to fast, but instead it decides when it will kick out on it's own and the error message on the dash says "service Stabilitak". The GMC dealer here that looked at my truck said, "there isn't a problem with it. It was designed that way"! I think GM is setting themselves up with a liability law suit if they don't fix it. Even their manual is false or misleading. I almost went over a cliff at Christmas time coming down a snowy hill thinking that this system was the cats meow! then it kicked out just on a 90 degree corner! yikes!!

Did the grade drop below a certain %?

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brifly007 · February 26, 2017

Did the grade drop below a certain %?

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Yes, the grade was approx between 8 & 10%. It doesn't seem to matter, the steeper the grade the quicker is kicks out! I can only imagine what would happen if you had some kind of load!